A Crash into Greatness

Lights shine, breaks screech, fear absorbs the mind and you crash; you collide into life. The film Crash is a 2004 Paul Haggis masterpiece crafted in a way to show how racism and individual prejudices can dictate the way we live and indirectly handicap us from seeing reality. Crash is a film that introduces a variety of situations and characters whose lives unpredictably intertwine in a short 36-hour time period, leading up to an awe-inspiring ending. This film advocates the importance of judging people based on the content of their character: rather than their racial, ethic, or religious makeup: it transcends beyond sheer entertainment because its message reaches further than that appeal. In this film a plethora of stereotypes are touched on whether it be victim and aggressor, woman and man, or black; there is an inescapable, parallel nature that exists between them all. Entertainment can be an ambiguous idea to define, but within great films like Crash that idea is much more prevalent because that idea is miraculously communicated to the audience through a lens and a roll of film.

             Paul Higgs, the director of this film, succeeded beyond audience expectations and after his screenplay work in the film Million Dollar Baby, we now know he is here to stay and dazzle us all. There is nothing reserved about the movie Crash and unlike Million Dollar Baby it does not build up to a climax because the intensity is apparent form beginning to end. Higgs does an amazing job in this film and I know that critics and movie goers alike took notice of that. There is a big difference between being a screenplay writer and being a director; Higgs had no much more to prove. His vision for the film translated beautifully onto the picture. I can only stand astonished by his work and his passion for making great movies. The cinematography, the casting, the raw honesty, all showcases Higgs visionary talent as a director. Higgs is here to stay because is has so much more to offer film-making; our thirsts will not be quenched and our appetites will not be fed without him.

Swimming through the ripe tides of perplexity and disorder the audience is brought into a new, provocative world: the real world. According to Roger Ebert, this film is a complex and intense drama full of sadistic dialogue and an aggressive cast as it attempts to investigate the “melting pot” of dissonance, a distinct lack of tolerance, and most prominently fear in L.A. Instead of taking an antiquated approach to the immorality of racism this film exploits the misconceptions and stereotypes that so many of us hold. Matt Dillon’s character is a police officer torn apart by weakening health of this father; which he transfers into anger by victimizing innocent people on the job. In one of the many disturbing scenes of this movie Matt Dillon sexual assaults Thandie Newton’s character, an African-American woman, when her husband, Terrence Howard, is pulled over for speeding. The film demonstrates the evidently corrupt law enforcement in the Los Angeles area and sparks a gut-wrenching desire for ignorance among the audience; people don’t want to believe that those whom we pride for saving lives are actually degrading them.  Crash dives in head first to a sea of controversy and it fearlessly attacks against all odds.

There are also those that look at this film and see a good piece of cinema, but not worthy of a renowned mark in movie-making history. As said by Rob Gonsalves, this film relies too much on twists of fate, leaving the audience with the impression that live is really like that. I would have to respectfully disagree with Gonsalves because I do not feel that this film is good in spite of the element of fate, but that this film is good because of it. Fate is this uncontrollable component in all the madness and chaos of the storyline that gives the characters a sense of hope; hope that there is a greater plan for them. According to Gonsalves, Haggis reveals these disconnected characters and then sets out to bring their lives together, not by nature, but by force. Gonsalves goes on to say that the script feels so unnatural because not every Iranian is irascible or every Latino a thug. I do see the point Gonsalves is trying to make, but his judgment is clouded by his ideal and he is missing the whole meaning behind this film. Crash is not putting the focus on a life of privilege or a life of struggle; it is presenting a set of extreme circumstances that test how both sides of the team play. That is why this film cannot be degraded to okay, but risen to great.

The real aspect of the film, which so many viewers miss, is not the element of superiority and subordination but the connection between the characters throughout a dramatic series of events. This connection brings about such a powerful idea that in some cosmic, almost incalculable way we are all connected and to bring suffering to one is to bring suffering to all.  The one we treat with malice and disgust may be the one person we need the most; a lesson Sandra Bullock’s character learns when she takes a fall down her stairs and her housekeeper comes to her rescue. Sandra Bullock is a complex character that goes through a coming of age experience as she pulls away from her pretentious, ignorant life choices. As a grown woman, Bullock realizes that the things she once found value in seem trivial when you need a true friend.  In the mind of Robert Ebert the concepts of this film have been touched on many times that seems almost like we seen it before, but what makes it different is the approach at which we combat these issues.  I couldn’t agree more with Ebert and to add my own account of the approach is to say, when a film evokes anger, joy, and fear simultaneously then it is without a doubt praiseworthy.

A film is only as good as the approach and director, Paul Higgs defined this idea in a very interesting, profound piece of documentation. In the film Million Dollar Baby Higgs was a screenplay writer and in Crash he takes on a completely different identity as director of the filmmaking process. Higgs translates his passion for justice and his keen sense for using the emotional component and its ability to cloud our judgment as ways of bringing dimension to the characters. When the ashamed and humiliated Terrence Howard confronts a group of police officers he proceeds to spit and scream, “Shoot me, go ahead and shoot me”, after allowing his wife to be molested by one of them the other night.  The emotions of the characters rise and fall to leave the audience wondering will they survive the storm? Naturally, as an audience we feel a kinship towards the abused and a hatred for the abusers, but in this film our attitudes are altered because we begin to understand the other side of the story. The side that seems to be lost when we differentiate between what is right from what is wrong.

Based on an interview conducted by Rebecca Taylor on Thandie Newton the film expresses a raw and multi-faceted greatness, “What’s so wonderful about the film is that it allows you to see their motivation and to see that behind the aggressive cop is a man in pain. Behind the frustrated housewife is a woman who feels betrayed…Racism is just one piece to the whole puzzle that the film offers”(qtd in Taylor). I have to concur with Newton’s interpretation of the film, as I have been saying throughout the review, Crash cannot be imprisoned to one message, but many.  Initially Newton’s character blames her husband for not stopping Dillon’s character from putting his hands all over her body, but she then forgives Dillon when they have another run in with each other and he saves her life. The film doesn’t put the scarlet letter on those who do wrong because this film allows for salvation and forgiveness. This facet of the movie was appreciated by Dillon who felt he could portray the role conviction in an interview by Taylor, “I‘ve never been one that has been that concerned with my character looking good and with this one, there’s redemption in the story” (qtd in Taylor). On the other hand some character stray from their natural goodness like Ryan Phillippe’s character, a young police officer, whom struggles to serve in the force without compromising his integrity and values. The film grants the characters with a choice; nothing is predetermined because the actions of the characters are all consenting choices.

Greatness is not present from the exterior, but is present from within; Higgs recognizes the potential for greatness and captures that on film. There are few movies in our era that you can look back on and know that you were forever impacted by the content of the film.  The films where you look back and can remember what you felt, what you witnessed, and even how it tasted. All senses have been exercised because you are in the presence of prominence: a mark in history. The severity of the situations and the dramatic car crash ending that puts the pieces of the puzzle together it what keeps the audience glued to the screen. The mark of a fantastic movie is when you look back to the very first time that you saw it and you can remember every detail because it was the day a film changed your perspective on life. Higgs brings to life that feeling and after you see this film you will leave with something that is so priceless because you will leave with an unsheltered truth.

Works Cited

1)      Ebert, Robert. “Crash.” Chicago Sun Times. May. 2005: Chicago, IL. 19 April 2008 <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050505/REVIEWS/50502001/1023> 

2)      Gonsalves, Rob. “Crash.” Efilmcritics. Jan. 2004:Toronto, Canada. 24 April 2008 <http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=10448&reviewer=416>

3)      Taylor, Rebecca. Matt Dillon and Thandie Newton Discuss “Crash”. 3  May 2005. Guide to Hollywood. 19  Apr. 2008 <http://movies.about.com/od/crash/a/crashmd050105.htm> \

4)      Crash Movie Photos. Lions Gate Films. 19  Apr. 2008 <http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/blcrashpicsa.htm>

crash-peer

The majority of gossip begins in school, usually high school, because this is a time in peoples’ lives that they feel most insecure and lost. Tiffany is pregnant, Sarah has an eating disorder, Chad is taking steroids, and whatever the gossip of the day is it is irresistible not to tell everyone you know. Gossip is like a disease that we all can not seem to be cured from. I have to admit that in high school I too enjoyed hearing the dirt of my fellow classmates, but as I get older I can see that it really is none of my business. I think that now I can see the harm in gossip, which I never really saw before. I was always taught that gossip may be exaggerated, but it is usually rooted from the truth. I guess I saw this as my justification fro participating in gossip because I saw no harm in telling the truth. Now, I know that even if there is truth in my gossip, it is not my truth to tell and I shouldn’t stick my nose in private affairs. See Tiffany may or may not be pregnant and Sarah may or may not have an eating disorder, but I definitely don’t need to spread that news. I just think about if the gossip was about me and how I would want people to respect my privacy.

I think that school is very important and I wouldn’t be attending college if I didn’t fully believe in this statement. I do however think that education in school is a multi-faceted concept because there is only so much one can learn in a classroom and then there’s life. Going to school with other kids and growing and learning from each other is vital to being able to function in the real world. I am not convinced that children that are home schooled will be able to do that so readily. I know that many children that are home schooled interact with kids outside school and therefore are able to create strong human relationships, but there is a different dynamic when the relationship is made in school. By nature people are innately influenced by the people in their lives; people like one’s fellow students in the classroom. No matter what argument one may present to me for home schooling and its independent studying advantages; I am not buying it!

            In the winter my family and I would go up to Tahoe for the snow and ski season because we never got snow in Sacramento. My father loved to ski and had been going up to Tahoe since we has a little kid in this same cabin; a passing a tradition form generation to generation if you will. My father taught me how to ski and I can still remember the tricks he told me for a successful, fall-free ride down the mountain. The first was to make a slice of pie shape with my skis when I wanted to stop and to inch my butt up to the end of the seat when approaching the end of the chair lift. My dad always had patience with me as I learned how to ski and eventually I got to be very good. My father and I would ski together when I was older and we’d go down some of the hardest runs just for the challenge. If you know anything about skiing a diamond run in a very difficult run and a double diamond is the hardest run. I was able to do diamonds without too much trouble, unless it was icy than you could forget about it. I’ve done only a couple double diamonds and let’s just say I wasn’t breaking any records getting down the mountain. I loved skiing with my dad and after years later I still love hanging out with my dad.

I do not think that it is fair to establish exceptions to being able to enter into marriage and I will not give in to any arguments to the contrary. In this country there is a foundation of free will that makes living here so great, why must be contradict that foundation now? I think that marriage should never be entered into lightly and therefore both persons should be 100 percent sure that they are ready. I look to the philosopher Martha Nussbaum who looks at gay marriage objectively in order to justify it. Nussbaum use the harm principle which states that one can restrict the autonomy of human beings to protect or prevent harm to others. With this stated Nussbaum looks at gay marriage as an act between two human beings that does not bring harm to anyone and therefore it is justified. Many people look at marriage as an institution between a man and a woman with the intention of having children. I know that homosexual couples do not possess the ability to have children, but I see no flaw it that. I define marriage as an institution between two people that love each other unconditionally.

             On the subject of breast cancer my family and I used to attend the Making Strides, breast cancer research foundation’s 3k run/walk fundraiser every year. This run/walk is stationed in California, where I grew up, and in just one day thousands of dollars is raised with pledges and donations of the participants. This foundation has been close to my heart for many years because I feel that they organize such proactive ways to raise money, which I admire greatly. My grandmother was unfortunate enough to be victimized by cancer, but being the strong, fiery woman that she is she beat it against all odds. The doctors said that there was a good chance she wouldn’t make it, but we still had some reason to hope. My grandmother is very religious and I can remember her telling me that this wasn’t her time to go and that she would survive it. Somehow deep down I knew she would to and sure enough my grandmother has been in remission for six years. Cancer is a very hard subject to talk about because so many people are affected by it; through a friend, a loved one, or even just an acquaintance. Now is the time to fight this battle and win.  

What happened to the simplicity of childhood, when all we really need was a toothbrush, toothpaste, and soap. Now, there is a need for the right shampoo and conditioner for your specific hair type and perfect eye shadow to complete your eye color and skin tone. Sometimes I wish that things could go back to when I was a kid and all I worried about was if I had clean clothes or if I needed to take a bath. Now, every time I read a magazine I start to think about which new products I just must try out. I can’t stand that I get sucked into the ads, but I guess I’m not alone. So many women are buying beauty care merchandise that they don’t actually need, but just think that they need. A lot of this excessive consumption has to do with our society constant attempt for perfection, most commonly with external beauty. The masses idolize beautiful people so when a product comes out that promises beauty, desperation takes over and bank accounts begin to decline in value. Just off the top of my head I can think of five different beauty ads I just recently read. One was a firming body cream that assured users that it got rid of cellulite and results would be visible within days. Another ad was for a frizz defying hair serum that promised sleek and beautiful hair no matter what kind of condition your hair was previously. There are so many ads I don’t know what is what anymore!

invention-work-for-unit-3     In my writing composition class the students were asked to produce brainstorming work for Unit three which consists of writing a critical review. This is my invention work for unit three and I have to admit that choosing a subject to write about was very difficult because there is so much that I wanted to write about. I first started to think about all the books that I would love to write a review on, but unfortunately reading seems to have lost much of its appeal as more and more movies are produced. After thinking things through I decided to write about a film because I truly want to entertain and persuade my audience in my review and I think my best chance of doing that would be to write about a film. I knew that writing a review on a movie would have a better reception than writing my review on a book. It was a sacrifice that I had to make and in the same regard an appealing alternative.